You're Not Old
by Kat Fish 1298
Summary: Percy's making his final visit to his mother in the hospital. One-shot. Kplus for sadness and character death.


Percy sat in the uncomfortable hospital chair beside the bed. Tears were in his green eyes, and a few escaped onto his tanned cheeks.

"The doctors say I only have a few more hours to live." She was telling him. Percy held on to her hand tighter, but not so tight that it hurt her.

"I still need you." He said, almost like a whiny child. "I don't want you to die." Percy Jackson had gone through a ton of shit in his life, most of it before he was even a legal adult. He only ever complained once or twice, and they were only brief moments and never whiny. If anyone had a right to whine, it was him.

The occupant of the bed smiled. "It's nice to be wanted." She said. "But you don't need me, honey."

"You're my mother. I'll always need you. You just can't die. Not yet."

Sally covered his hand with her free one. "Percy, sweetheart, I love you, but it's time for me to go. I'm old and I'm ready to see Paul in Elysium."

Percy's nose crinkled and he said exactly what Sally expected him to. "You're not old."

She was. Her brown hair had gone pure white nearly ten years earlier. The simple task of walking had become a chore only five years earlier. Wrinkles covered her head to toe. A few months earlier, she broke a hip by falling into a table. "I'm seventy years old. You're all grown up. You've got a beautiful wife, three wonderful children, and a fourth on the way."

"Actually, we found out it's twins." Percy told her.

"All the more better." Sally said. "I'm sorry that I won't get to meet them." Then she sighed. "Percy, I love you more than anybody else, and I love that you don't think of me as old. But the fact of the matter is that I am. I know you well enough that I know you'll be more upset by this than anything in your life so far, so I need you to promise me something. Promise me that you won't let your mourning get out of hand. You have a wife and five kids that need you. Just don't let yourself be destroyed by my passing, Percy."

"I don't get why you're bringing this up." Percy said. "I would never just abandon them like that."

"I had a dream last night." Sally admitted. "It wasn't pretty and I don't want it to come to pass. Please promise me that. Swear on Styx."

"I swear on Styx." Percy said. Thunder rumbled and Sally's shoulders relaxed from the tension he hadn't noticed before.

A nurse walked in and informed them that visiting hours were over. Percy really didn't want to go, but he leaned over and hugged his mother. "I love you, mom. I'm sorry Annabeth, Lilly, Lucas, and Sophie couldn't be here."

"I love you too, sweetie. Give them my love. I'll see you later, in Elysium. Just don't come too soon. Wait a few decades first."

"Okay. I will." Percy left the room, his heart still feeling heavy and the tears still on his face. He didn't want to think about the fact that his mo probably wouldn't be alive come the morning. "I love you, mom." He thought. "And you're not old."

**In my head, Percy is in his early forties and Sally had him when she was in her late twenties. The math works out. Kinda.**

**Please review! It would make me very happy!**

**I will be writing a short epilogue type thingy, so follow!**

**And why don't you just complete the Fanfiction Trifecta and hit the favorite button while you're at it!**

**I will get back to my other stories soon. I promise. Schools starting up again and Imma have a bit more free time this quarter- though I'm working on my friend's birthday present. (It's basically Apples to Apples, but all the red cards are specific to our favorite fandoms. My favorite card so far is for Hunger Games. It's Burned Bread with a picture of two loaves of burned bread and the caption says "Welcome to Flirting 101. I'm your professor, Peeta Mellark.) Also, I'm ungrounded and I got laptop for Christmas! Though it's meant for school so I'll probably end up deleting my big file games.**

**I'm also trying to finish my belated Christmas and New Year's one-shots, and trying to get a head start on my Valentine's Day one-shot.**

**-IAmLordVoldemort2**

**QOTD: What did you get for Christmas? (Or Hanukkah if you're Jewish. Or any other holiday for any other religion.)**


End file.
